Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In a recent MSNBC video, Wharton students may not have been keen on supporting 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, but a famous name connected to Wharton has weighed in.
On April 30, Jon Huntsman Jr., 1987 College graduate and former Gov. of Utah, said that Trump would be the most strategic choice for the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. The politician — whose father, Jon Huntsman Sr., is a Wharton graduate after whom Huntsman Hall is named — told Politico that Trump "has the ability to assemble a nontraditional bloc of supporters."
“We've had enough intraparty fighting. Now's the time to stitch together a winning coalition,” Huntsman Jr. said.
He clarified in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian that his words were "Just a statement of party strategy about Trump being best positioned to build new coalitions as a nominee."
Huntsman Jr. served as the Gov. of Utah from 2005 until 2009. He has also been America's ambassador to China and to Singapore.
He ran for president in 2012 and dropped out during the primaries.
Wharton has repeatedly declined to comment on their famous alum's presidential ambitions throughout the primary campaign.
Correction: A previous version of this article and its headline stated that Jon Huntsman Jr. had endorsed Trump, but Huntsman later clarified in an email to The DP that he was commenting on party strategy, not announcing an official endorsement. The DP regrets the error.
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